[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10508-10509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO WILBURN K. ROSS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
honorable Kentuckian and decorated World War II veteran, Mr. Wilburn K. 
Ross of Strunk, KY. Ross, who turned 91 in May, celebrated his birthday 
by making a trip to Kentucky from his current home in Dupont, WA. Ross 
has not only served his country but continues to serve his childhood 
home by coming back each year to spend time with his family and fellow 
veterans of McCreary County.
  Ross, who is also known as ``Wib,'' was raised in Strunk, KY, and 
joined the U.S. Army here to begin his extraordinary service to our 
country. Every year for his birthday, Ross makes the visit back to 
Kentucky. ``Everybody here treats me well,'' Ross said. ``I like coming 
back here because I was raised here.'' Ross's son Greg is the eldest of 
his six children and travels with his father.
  On October 30, 1944, Ross served as a private in Company G, 30th 
Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. This day Ross fought 
courageously, and 6 months later he received the highest decoration in 
the U.S. military, the Medal of Honor. After 55 out of the 88 men were 
lost in his company, Ross manned a machine gun alone holding off six 
German attacks.
  Mr. Ross's bravery and courage while in service to his Nation is an 
inspiration to his fellow Kentuckians. His story is one that is told 
again and again to remind McCreary County residents of his dedication 
and liberty to our country. A local newspaper published an article on 
May 23, 2013, to celebrate 91 years of life for Mr. Ross and

[[Page 10509]]

to retell his story while in uniform. I ask unanimous consent that the 
full article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to appear in the 
Record, as follows:

             [From the McCreary County Voice, May 23, 2013]

                           Courage Under Fire


    Story of Native Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Is Worth 
                               Repeating

                           (By Eugenia Jones)

       As he does each year on his birthday, Wilburn K. ``Wib'' 
     Ross makes the journey back from his current home in Dupont, 
     Washington to the Bear Creek community in Strunk, Kentucky, 
     to visit his birthplace and childhood home and to celebrate 
     and reminisce with family and friends.
       This year, with Ross turning 91 on May 12, was no 
     exception. Arriving in McCreary County on the day prior to 
     his birthday, the spry 91-year-old clearly was not weary from 
     his cross-country travels. After spending the remainder of 
     his McCreary County arrival day visiting with his brothers 
     and other family members, ``Wib'' found time to visit the 
     American Legion Post 115 for a night filled with jokes and 
     conversation with fellow veterans.
       On the following day, ``Wib'' once again visited the 
     American Legion, where he was honored at a special luncheon 
     with an American flag birthday cake.
       The story of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and 
     McCreary County native Wilburn K. Ross, who was a member of 
     the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Division, and his bravery 
     under fire during World War II has been told many times, yet 
     it remains a story that is worth repeating, not only to 
     remind us of the individual courage and bravery needed to 
     protect the freedom we cherish but also to share, with our 
     young people, the historical legacy surrounding a McCreary 
     Countian's inclusion into the elite group of Congressional 
     Medal of Honor recipients.
       It is from McCreary County that Ross, as a young man, 
     entered the U.S. Army during World War II. His service led 
     him to be cited for ``conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity 
     at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty near St. 
     Jacques, France'' and to be awarded the Congressional Medal 
     of Honor.
       According to the ``U.S. Army Center of Military History,'' 
     Ross's extraordinary feat of courage began at 11:30 a.m. on 
     October 30, 1944, after his company had lost 55 of 88 men in 
     an attack on elite German mountain troops.
       Risking his own safety in order to absorb the beginning 
     impact of the enemy counterattack, Private Ross placed his 
     machine gun 10 yards in front of his leading support 
     riflemen. With machine gun and small-arms fire whizzing 
     around him, Ross fired with deadly accuracy and managed to 
     fend off the enemy force.
       Surrounded by automatic fire and exploding rifle grenades, 
     Private Ross, by himself, continued to man his machine gun 
     and bravely held off six more German attacks. By the eighth 
     attack, most of Ross's supporting riflemen were out of 
     ammunition. As the American riflemen took positions 
     supporting Ross from behind, they crawled, during battle, to 
     Private Ross in order to slip a few rounds of ammunition from 
     his belt. Throughout it all, Ross continued to fight on with 
     basically no help, successfully pushing the enemy back 
     despite the fact that enemy grenadiers crawled to within four 
     yards of his position in attempts to kill him with hand 
     grenades.
       Finally, having used his last rounds of ammunition, Private 
     Ross was directed to withdraw to the command post with the 
     eight surviving riflemen. Instead, Ross, anticipating more 
     ammunition, stood his ground. The Germans, realizing that 
     Ross and his machine gun were all that stood between them and 
     a major breakthrough, embarked on their last attack, bringing 
     their fire and wrath together on Private Ross in an effort to 
     destroy him. Just as the enemy was about to rush over Ross's 
     position, he received fresh ammunition, allowing him to open 
     fire on the enemy, killing 40 and wounding 10 of the 
     attacking force.
       Single-handedly breaking the attack, Ross killed or wounded 
     at least 58 Germans in more than five hours of continuous 
     combat, saving the last members of his company from 
     devastation.
       ``I didn't really get tired,'' Ross commented when asked 
     about the battle. ``But they got awfully close to killing 
     me.''
       Remaining on his post that night and the following day for 
     a total of 36 hours, Ross proved that his upbringing in 
     McCreary County, Kentucky, had served him well in preparing 
     him to exhibit extraordinary courage and fortitude in 
     protecting his comrades and his country under fire.
       Six months later, on April 14, 1945, Ross proved that the 
     same McCreary County upbringing had prepared him to receive 
     the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military 
     decoration given by the United States government to a member 
     of the armed forces.
       Years later, that same McCreary County man, who as a young 
     adult worked in the local coal mines at Stearns, received 
     congratulations from and shook the hand of President John F. 
     Kennedy, just a few months prior to Kennedy's assassination.
       In continuing his career with the Army, Ross reached the 
     rank of Master Sergeant and received the Purple Heart, Bronze 
     Star, Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Infantry Badge, Good Conduct 
     Medal, and the French Croix De Guerre. He was wounded four 
     times and also served in Korea.
       Today, at 91 years old, Ross will quickly tell everyone how 
     much he enjoys his birthday visits home to McCreary County.
       ``Everybody here treats me well,'' Ross smiled. ``They've 
     named the highway [Private Wilburn K. Ross Highway] after me. 
     I like coming back her because I was raised here.''
       Ross's son Greg, the eldest of six children, travels with 
     his father and truly admires his father. ``He's been a super 
     man all his life,'' Greg commented as he smiled at his 
     father. ``He's always been helpful to everybody. It's fun to 
     travel with him.''
       ``Wib'' says his life is ``pretty good'' now. With his son 
     close by, Ross still lives by himself in Dupont and mows his 
     own grass. He enjoys going out for his weekly visit to a 
     local gathering spot to listen to music and sings along when 
     the lyrics, ``Put your sweet lips a little closer to the 
     phone,'' ring out from the stage.
       The Congressional Medal of Honor recipient is 
     straightforward and direct when asked for his advice to the 
     younger generation.
       ``I think the best thing is to always do what you think is 
     right,'' Ross declared. ``If you do that, you'll have nothing 
     to worry about.''

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